"I know why you've come... they've sent you to bring me back, but that cannot happen.."

Sunday, August 31, 2008

One of the things you can read quite often on the forums is how lazy "casuals" are. And how easy things are made so "casuals" can participate. And "casuals" aren't willing to put in the work for rewards.

For one brief moment I almost started to believe them - "I *do* want things easy, I'm lazy and don't want to work for rewards!".

But it isn't true. I'm not lazy. I could, and have, spent months where I spent consecutive hours raiding for rewards. I could, and have, spent months where I have run battlegrounds for rewards.

But those activities ceased to become fun for me. So, because I choose to not participate in tedious, boring activity I'm lazy?

I think we have our descriptions or expectations wrong.

Doing quests is a fun activity for me. I know some players who skip quests and either instance or grind to max level. Are they lazy because they've skipped a ton of quests?

I know some players who only log on to compete in arenas. Are they lazy because they don't raid? Are raiders lazy because they don't compete in arenas?

I hope achievements give "hardcore" players the recognition they desire. That recognition that sets them apart from others who decide what they like doing should be rewarded in some better way. Maybe that would make them happy and they can quit finding time to label the rest of us.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

A good friend of mine recently told our guild he wanted to take a very short break from raiding to do something else. He would be able to log on every now and then, but instead of joining the raid then dropping he'd just rejoin full force later.

One person quickly commented that he should reschedule the "something else" and still raid.

Later on, during the break, someone else tracked him down on an alt and asked him was he going to raid.

Comments like these are the peer pressure raiders feel to raid constantly.

I've taken more vacation time from work than some raiders have from their raid schedule.

I'm not trying to knock raiding. Then again maybe I am. It just seems insane sometimes.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

1) Play a needed class. One common refrain to the shortage of tanks posts is "there is no shortage of tanks, just a lack of tanks wanting to pug". And this is where I sit. It's not because my gear is great and I feel above pugs, I just realized I don't like being the "leader" often. And that's what most pugs required, someone to lead them through instances. For instances I felt comfortable with (usually stuff I outgeared) I was okay with it. But if I'm struggling to tank I don't want to have to tell everyone what they need to do. So in the end I quit doing 5-man instances for the most part.

2) Focus on one role. Well if catbear is a role I focused on one. As I mentioned in #1 I quit pursuing 5-man instances so focusing a role didn't matter. I was 99% cat and 1% bear (Galvanger and Drek'thar). If you don't group you don't have to be a bear much.

3) Do not raid. The Kara group I raided with had a better geared druid come back (for badges) and I ended up sitting out enough that I quit showing up. The Gruul/Mags impromptu raids disappeared.

4) Do not pick up a crafting profession. I'm still a gatherer. I want to mess around with inscriptions but that's not until WotLK.

5) Get loot through crafting, reputation and pvp. I grew tired of the pvp "welfare" gear grind. I don't even see myself going through it in wotlk if Blizzard decides to keep that type of stuff in the game.

6) PvP marginally. See #5

7) Grind reputations that only give rewards I can't easily get anywhere else. Haven't done anymore reputation grind except Scryer because I was so close to finishing.

8) Give up on fun frivolities I'm not sure why I listed this one in the beginning, what is this game but a fun frivolity? I have the most fun questing with a friend. But sadly I think we've run out of most of the quests we can do as a duo. Pretty much what is left is only group and raid quests.

So I'm playing less but I don't think its as much a result of following this list as it is just how things have worked out.

I came across the first random "raiding has been called off until WotLK" announcement. The guild I'm in is still going strong, but I wouldn't be surprised to see more of this.

It just must be too much of a pain to keep people motivated. The expansion will be a bit of a gear reset and wiping on Sunwell content with better options on the horizon is a tough option to choose. But if you are in a raiding guild, wouldn't raiding be the only option you'd be happy with? Or is it more important to prepare for raiding in Wrath?

My deadline is looming and I didn't get all the things I said I would done, but I'd rather spent my last days playing now instead of preparing to play later.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Responding to a comment on my previous post led me to expound on why I enjoy playing my druid so much.

If you mention druids need buffs on the forums you will be met with Druids are OP in the arena!

But, whether this is true or not, they most likely mean restoration-specced druids. And they also mean in 2v2s (and 3v3s?) So in a small subset of the world...of warcraft...druids are OP. If you pin them in a corner you might get them to admit feral druids aren't awesome in arenas. However this is not meant to be a PvP post so I'll leave it at that.

What I was getting at is there are things I feel are missing for a cat druid in pvp, but in reality I only do arenas as a "something to do" and not to be competitive so I have no complaints in that arena (I'll quit apologizing for the puns one day).

I don't participate in the higher heights of progression raiding, so my dps not matching a rogues, or 90% of a rogues, or whatever percentage rogues would be happy with ferals doing, doesn't matter much to me.

I'm able to tank Gruul level bosses, and as I mentioned I don't do anything higher so my bear is content.

Will I stick with it? Most likely no. It would have to really turn out to be a fun playstyle for me. And it would have to sway me away from my druid altogether. Because I have no plans to level up multiple characters anymore.

It is doubtful a DK would make me turn my back on my druid. Because the things I like about playing a druid cannot be replaced by a DK. But a druid and DK can both tank and dps you say! Ah, but the real joy I get out of playing a druid are some very simple things.